Bangladesh : Violence against women

Have we failed to stand up to it?

WOMEN have become an endangered species in Bangladesh. Hardly a day passes without news of violence against women; of girls, daughters, wives subjected to brutality and torture. Last Friday’s issue of The Daily Star carried not one but three stories of violence perpetrated on women. In one instance a jilted suitor in Barisal reacted by attacking his inamorata, causing her grievous injuries and subsequently her death. In another instance a young girl of fifteen could not bear the humiliation of being stalked, and not finding solace even in her parents, who rebuked her on hearing of the incident instead of giving her the much needed consolation and support, hanged herself. The third woman succumbed to her injuries after an acid attack in her home. These are but only a few instances of the widespread violence against women in the country. Needless to say, most of the violence is perpetrated by persons known to the victims or by those that live in the same vicinity, and also, regrettably, by members of her family. We feel that the state should devise more robust ways to prevent these crimes, and more punitive measures, apart from the existing laws, should be conceived that would act as severe deterrence. For example, the said stalker was arrested and sentenced immediately to one year prison term by a mobile court, but it was too late for the unfortunate girl, and, for an act that has eventually caused the life of the young girl, too little.